2014.10.09
Stone Brewing Company, of Escondido, California 10th largest U.S. craft brewery, to build an East Coast brewery and restaurant, in Richmond, Virginia, opening in 2016, employing more than 288 people.
—Via Barley Blog.

2014.10.06
The 'best' beer of each U.S. state, as determined by the highest RateBeer.com scores.
—Via Business Insider.

2014.10.04
Is drinking local beer always the best way? Greg Engert of Bluejacket, Washington, D.C., looks at beer quality and flavor as obvious, but sometimes ignored, factors in choosing a 'good' beer.
—Via Esquire Magazine.

2014.10.04
The great American beers of 2014, as judged at the Great American Beer Festival, in Denver, Colorado.
—Via YFGF.

2014.10.03
"If craft brewing had come along just a little sooner, Ballantine IPA might well now be considered [craft beer's] grandfather."
—Via Jeff Alworth in All About Beer.

2014.09.28
For the 2012 vintage, two hundred and sixty-seven Medoc chateaux have been classified as Cru Bourgeois; the most ever.
—Via Decanter.

2014.09.28
A ten-step primer to pouring draught beer correctly —and actually pouring the beer is only one of the ten.
—Via Brewers Association.

2014.09.28
"Wine should be paired with a meal, not a weather report." The wine reviewer for the Washington Post recommends Riesling (for its acidity and relatively low alcohol content) for Oktoberfest-style meals of wurst and sausages.
—Via Dave McIntyre.

2014.09.28
In 2014, two-thousand acres in New York were devoted to growing barley for malting. Future demand in the state could support thirty-thousand acres.
—Via Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

There will be at least forty-one casks of real ale (and one 'real' lager) at the festival. And, what is 'real ale'?

Also known as cask-conditioned ale, 'real ale' is beer brewed from traditional ingredients; matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed; served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide; presented unfiltered, yet 'bright' not cloudy; served at cool 'cellar' temperature, approximately 50 - 56 °F, at which point the subtleties of flavor become prominent. It's the beauty of beer at its freshest.

The festival takes place both inside and out the Pratt Street Alehouse. Outside, no problem. The weather forecast for Saturday is for good autumn weather. Or, as some might say, good cask ale weather. And, the festival is a bargain. For one admittance fee, a festival go-er can drink unlimitedly (within the bounds of supply and good and decorum), without the nuisance of purchasing drink tickets. Food, however, is not included, but can be purchased off the pub's menu, in the dining rooms or at the bar.

Here's the line-up of casks: some TBDs (to be determined), some MIAs, and, as always, some yet-to-be-named guest beers.

2014.09.19
Pabst —the non-brewing owner of several American 'legacy' brands including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, Colt 45, and National Bohemian— has been sold to a consortium including a Russian company, Oasis Beverages.
—Via Baltimore Sun.

2014.09.18
Anne-Françoise Pypaert is the first-ever woman brewmaster at any Trappist brewery, directing brewing operations at Brasserie d’ Orval, where she had been Director of Quality Control since 1995.
—Via Belgian Beer Specialist.

2014.09.17
Daniel Bradford, owner of All About Beer Magazine for 22 years, has sold the magazine and the World Beer Festival to a North Carolina company. The sale marks a generational change in craft beer, Bradford was former director of the Great American Beer Festival, former president of the Brewers Association of America, and former marketing director of the Association of Brewers.
—Via Real Beer.

2014.09.15
Nearly one in every three beers in the world might soon be owned by the same company. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest beer maker by volume, is preparing to offer as much as $122 billion for SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewing company.
—Via Washington Post.

2014.09.15
The twenty-five 'Best' Beer Bars in America in 2014, as selected in a national poll, run by the Brewers Association.
—Via CraftBeer.com.

2014.09.14
Sad legal kerfuffle at Balcones Whisky, one of America's 1st 'craft' distilleries, in Waco, Texas. The distillery founder, Chip Tate, has refused to attend board meetings with the venture capital group that now owns a majority stake in the company.
—Via Whisky Advocate.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Attending an Oktoberfest celebration, these two were into the spirit of the thing, wearing dirndls, traditional Bavarian peasant dresses.

But the beers they were holding?

Dark ... cask-conditioned Oatmeal Stouts. Brewed byOliver Brewing of Baltimore, Maryland, which served them hand-pulled from a firkin (10.8-gallon cask), via a 'beer engine.' Not so Bavarian-traditional, but quite the traditional English way of doing things.

'Chick' beer? Hah!

Photo taken at the Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest, organized by the Capitol City Brewing Company, in Arlington, Virginia, a close-in suburb of Washington, D.C.
4 October 2014.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Thelonious Sphere Monk, the great American composer and jazz pianist, would have been 97 years old today. He was born on 10 October 1917. He died on 17 February 1982.

I would like to play a beautiful tune I composed not so long ago, entitled Pannonica. It was named after this beautiful lady here. I think her father gave her that name, after a butterfly, that he tried to catch. I don't think he caught the butterfly.

Monk's performance, here, of Pannonica —named for Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (Rothschild), an English-born patron of late 1940s and 1950s American bebop jazz ('Nica' for her friends)— displays his compositional ethos and kepboard virtuosity distilled to its essence: use of null time and coaxing of tones between a piano's keys, transforming a deceptively simple melody into a miniature gem of severe beauty.

Along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and a handful of other players, he developed the style of jazz that came to be known as bebop. Monk's compositions, among them "Round Midnight," were the canvasses upon which these legendary soloists expressed their musical ideas.
In 1947, Monk made his first recordings as a leader for Blue Note. These albums are some of the earliest documents of his unique compositional and improvisational style, both of which employed unusual repetition of phrases, an offbeat use of space, and joyfully dissonant sounds.

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Greg Engert is the Beer Director for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG) of Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia. A past English literature major at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Engert now oversees the beer program for seventeen restaurants and retail shops.

Already successful by 2009, Engert, and NRG's principal, Michael Babin, really hit their stride when, that year, they opened their first Washington, D.C. properties, the beer-centric restaurant Birch & Barley, and —just up the stairwell— Churchkey, its accompanying beer bar. There, Engert arranged a beer list —500 in bottle, 50 on draught, and 5 served from cask via handpumps— by weight and flavor, a practice often thought (more for exclusive snobbery) exclusive to wine. His categories are Crisp, Hop, Malt, Roast, Smoke, Fruit & Spice, Tart & Funky.

In 2010, Food & Wine Magazine selected Engert as one of seven Sommeliers of the Year: the first time the magazine has brought beer on-board its list.

In October 2013, the group opened Bluejacket, a brewery and restaurant in southeast Washington, D.C., in the now-bustling neighborhood near to Nationals Ballpark. Engert presides there as brewmaster and beer director.

A young man in a hurry to success, Greg Engert celebrates his 35th birthday, today.

Sunday, October 05, 2014

Judges have judged. Medals have been awarded. Champions declared. Thousands of beers drunk. The 2014 Great American Beer Festival —held at the Colorado Convention Center, in Denver, Colorado, Thursday through Saturday, 2-4 October, with 49,000 good beer fans in attendance— is now history.

The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer festival and competition. Each year, GABF represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in the format of a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF was founded in 1982, and has been growing and evolving along with the American craft brewing industry ever since.

Gold
A world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance.

SilverAn excellent beer that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance.

BronzeA fine example of the style that may vary slightly from style parameters and/or have minor deviations in taste, aroma or appearance.

If judges believe that no beer in the category meets the quality and style-accuracy criteria, they may elect not to award a medal. Judges may award a beer with a silver or bronze medal and yet not award a gold medal.

If all the substyles recognized at this year's GABF were added to the number of all the style categories, the total count of beer styles for the competition would reach 180. As evidence of this conspicuous inflation, the 2014 GABF competition featured three new categories: Belgian-Style Fruit Beer, with 41 entries; Historical Beer, with 12 entries; and Kuyt Beer, which had no entries. Saké, for example, was considered a sub-style of Experimental Beer (Category #16). Please don't tell the Japanese that saké is only "experimental." And, the International Style Pale Ale (Category #51a)? What exactly does 'international' taste like? And, what could the difference possibly be between an American India Pale Ale (Category #55) and an American Strong Pale Ale (Category #53)?

The business and soul of 'craft' beer might be better served if the GABF, rather than birthing or disinterring styles, were to award scores in addition to medals (as wine and spirits do, for better or worse). Thus, even if a brewery might not secure one of three medals in a style-category, it might still receive a high score, and use that number to promote its image, and thus all of 'craft' beer.

According to The Full Pint —which 'live' tweeted the results as they were announced on Saturday— the top five most-entered categories were:

American India Pale Ale (279 entries)

Herb and Spice Beer (150 entries)

American-Style Pale Ale (145 entries)

American-Style Amber/Red Ale (140 entries)

Imperial India Pale Ale (135 entries)

************

The Overall Champions

So ... the winners of the 2014 Great American Beer Festival —those with the bragging rights of best-beer-in-America (until next year)— are these. I'm not certain of the exact algorithm used to determine the results, but it must (I assume) involve medal count and strength of finish.

Small Brewpub of the YearBastone Brewery: Royal Oak, Michigan.
brewer: Rockne Van Meter
[He's hands-down the choice of Yours For Good Fermentables as the winning brewer with the hippest name.]

Large Brewing Company of the YearAC Golden brewing Company: Golden, Colorado.
brewer: AC Golden Brewing Team
[AC Golden is a subsidiary of MillerCoors, itself a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company. It operates in the former pilot plant of Coors Brewing.]

These are numbers somewhat in a vacuum, as the GABF does not reveal the number of breweries submitting from each state. But, still, the results are those expected at the top, and interesting beneath. It's worth reading Alworth's analysis.

You can see the list of all the winners in each category this year —and every year, dating back to 1983, when the GABF was first held— at the festival website: www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com.

************

The DMV

Now, on to the winners in the DMV —that is, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia— the home territory for Yours For Good Fermentables.

Last year, in 2013, no beers from the District medalled at the GABF (although they have before). So, this year, hearty congratulations go to DC Brau for its silver medal, for The Citizen, in the Belgian-and French-style Ale division (Category #73).

At last year's GABF, Maryland grabbed only one medal, a bronze for Flying Dog, in Frederick. This year, the 'Free State' garnered five medals, including one gold by the Gordon-Biersch Brewpub, in Annapolis, for its Rauchbier.

In 2013, Virginia took home fourteen medals, four of them gold (two of those from Devils Backbone, in both the Lexington and Roseland locations, and one each from Port City, in Alexandria, and Lost Rhino, in Ashburn), the 5th most medals accrued by any state.

But, in 2014, Virginia won only seven medals, slipping to 9th/10th (as shown in the graph above). That's still a respectable showing, and includes two gold medals: one to Devils Backbone, for its Schwarzbier, and one to Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, for its Raspberry Stout," the first medal of any sort that a Richmond brewery has brought home from the GABF" (according to Richmond beer columnist Lee Graves).

In terms of degree-of-difficulty, brewer Kristi Mathews Griner of Capitol City Brewing Company, in Arlington, Virginia, should get a special commendation. Her Amber Waves took a silver in the American-Style Amber/Red Ale division, competing against one-hundred-thirty-nine other beers, the most of any category won in the DMV, and the fourth toughest competition, nationally.

But top honors must go to Devils Backbone, in Virginia, which not only won four medals —the only local multiple-winner— but repeated as a national champion for the third time in as many years.

At the 2012 GABF, the Devils Backbone 'Basecamp,' in Roseland, won Small Brewpub of the Year; in 2013, again, but as Small Brewery of the Year. This year, the brewery's production-only facility —which the company calls the 'Outpost'— won Mid-Size Brewery of the Year. In addition, in 2010, Devils Backbone won, globally, as the World Beer Cup Champion Small Brewpub. In a few short years, Devils Backbone has become the elite brewery of the area, and in the top tier, nationwide.

So, here they are: thirteen awards altogether in the DMV, for ten different breweries, including three gold medals. Congratulations to all!

Friday, October 03, 2014

The Washington Post recently posted a video interview of Howard Hart, a sixty-something stadium vendor who has sold beer for nearly four decades, most of those years at Baltimore Orioles games, at the old Memorial Stadium, then at Camden Yards, and, now, both there and in Washington, D.C., at Washington Nationals games, at Nationals Park.

Mr. Hart, who counts himself as a fan of both teams, comes across as an unsung 'character' of the beer business, right at the intersection of commerce and conviviality, an observer of life through beer and baseball.

In Baltimore, the number one beer is Natty Boh. In Washington, the shandy, the IPA, the Heineken. That tells you about everything you need to know. If I were to have a big party, I could invite the Orioles and Nationals fans. There wouldn't be any fights.

I wanted to know more about Howard Hart, so I asked Charlie Vascellaro —a baseball and travel writer, based in Baltimore, who blogs at Baseball Vagabond— to tell me more. "I love this guy," Vascellaro said. "He's one of the most spiritual people I know."

Hart engages the crowd, Vascellaro told me, more than by simply selling to it. "He's a sweet and sentimental man," who seems to know what folk are thinking before they say it (and we're not talking just "beer, please," Vascellaro interjects!). "Going out of his way to be nice," he is "the true definition of an old soul."

Hart runs a constant dialogue, not a set patter, but more like an always topical stand-up routine. He will quote passages of literature, germane to the game in progress, and often recommend books he has read. He's got great stories about the teams behind the scenes, during the season and at spring training where he also works, Vascellaro added. "There's that's that one about George Steinbrenner" (former owner of the New York Yankees). And, Vascellaro marvels, Hart is always "into the game," which is a difficult thing for a vendor who's concentrating on selling his wares. "Somehow, he always knows the count."

Hart has written stories on baseball, and was instrumental in assisting with the success of the recent Paul Blair Day —a celebration, at Camden Yards, of the Orioles' great former centerfielder, who died suddenly last year— organized by Vascellaro and fellow Baltimore-based writer, Rafael Alvarez.

Only vendor Clarence Haskett (known as "Fancy Clancy" because of his behind-the-back double-beer pour) has more tenure than Hart. Both men grew up in Baltimore during a time of rampant segregation. Both men —Hart, white; and Haskett, African-American— became colleagues because of beer and baseball. Both would become friends because of beer and baseball.

"I never realised I would get old," says Hart, who has waited a long time for another opportunity to see one of his teams win it big. Well, we wouldn't dare tempt the ire of the baseball demiurges by saying more, but ...

Last night at Camden Yards, the Orioles spanked the Detroit Tigers 12-3, in the first game of the American League Division Series. Howard Hart was there, smiling and doing what he has always done, dispensing warm wisdom and cold wares, in the stands along the first base line at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. And, today, he'll be doing the same at Nationals Park, working near the home team's dugout, as the Washington Nationals take on the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series.

Look for the "Popeye" forearms that Hart has developed from years of lugging pounds of ice and beers. Listen for his distinctively booming voice. Buy a beer, tip him big, and tell him: "Charlie sent me."

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

"What are you drinking here today," he asked, saying hi. "I'm checking out the Oktoberfest lagers," I replied.

"Why," he asked, somewhat bemused. "Why aren't you drinking the IPAs?" "Well, I can get IPAs anyday," I explained. "I appreciate the skill needed in lager-brewing; I like the the interplay of sweet malt and dry finish in märzen/Oktoberfests. Brewers brought different interpretations of the style here, today."

He shook his head. "No, I'll stick to the IPAs."

It was a sunny, early autumn, afternoon, outside Mad Fox Brewing Company, in Falls Church, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Saturday, 27 September 2014, the brewpub had invited local breweries (mostly) to submit Oktoberfest-style lagers and India Pale Ales (IPAs) for its beer festival, Hoppy Oktoberfest. That was a smart move on its part, understanding that a majority of 'craft' beer drinkers prefer hops, no matter what; that a minority prefer malt; but that a plurality enjoy both.

Much of the base malt is called Munich malt, a highly aromatic malt with a color rating of 3 to 10 degrees Lovibond. As a result märzen and Oktoberfest beers tend to be primarily (golden) amber in color, showing sweet, almost toffee-like maltiness, combined with biscuit and bread flavors, as well as plenty of mouthfeel.

Flavor: Initial malty sweetness, but finish is moderately dry. Distinctive and complex maltiness often includes a toasted aspect. Hop bitterness is moderate, and noble hop flavor is low to none. Balance is toward malt, though the finish is not sweet. Noticeable caramel or roasted flavors are inappropriate. Clean lager character with no diacetyl or fruity esters.

Brewer Mike McCarthy told me the beer was 5% alcohol-by-volume, lightly hopped with the German noble hop Hallertau Mittlefrüh, and brewed with German Pilsner and 'Munich' malts from Wyermann Maltings. That was evident. The malt imparted a depth of toasted bread, melanoidal flavor, characteristic of the style, but avoiding the caramel flavors of caramel malts, often used by American craft brewers in their Oktoberfests. Untraditionally (but successfully), DC Brau added Belgian 'Abbey' malt to the grist. 'Abbey' malt is also called 'brumalt' or 'honey malt.'

Malt sweetness and honey like flavour and aroma make it perfect for any specialty beer. The closest comparison is a light caramel, but Honey Malt has a flavour of its own: sweet and a little bit nutty. Made by restricting the oxygen flow during the sprouting process, Honey Malt is essentially self-stewed. When the oxygen is cut off, the grain bed heats up, developing sugars and rich malt flavours. The malt is lightly kilned for a color color profile of 25 SRM and is devoid of astringent roast flavors.

So: DC Brau's Oktoberfest.

Dark orange in hue. An aroma of sweet malt, with herbal notes in the background. Toasted biscuity malt body and dry finish. Less sweet than others: deep in malt character, but not cloying. What wasn't to like? I didn't miss the hops.

P.S. I did also enjoy a very hoppy 'wet-hopped' India Pale Ale that afternoon.